STUCK IN THE VINYL AGAIN - KIϟϟ - UNMASKED

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Good morning record enthusiasts and welcome back to the Sunday edition of Stuck In The Vinyl Again. It was on this very day in 1980, that masked rockers KIϟϟ, embarked on their 14 date tour of  Australia and New Zealand, in support of their Unmasked album. With that in mind, we present their Unmasked album. The LP was released May 20, 1980 on the Casablanca label and produced by Vini Poncia. Poincia, who was Ringo Starr's longtime songwriting partner, co-writes many of the disc's tunes. It peaked at #48 in the UK, #35 in the US, #12v in Canada, and #1 in New Zealand and Norway. Three singles were released ; "Shandi" (#70 Canada, #47 US, #1 Argentina) , "Talk To Me" (#32 Germany, #10 Switzerland) and "Tomorrow" (#70 Germany). It's any interesting album, for a couple of reasons. One, although drummer Peter Criss is credited, he does not appear on the album, touring drummer  Anton Fig does. Two, it is also the last time guitarist Ace Frehley would perform with band until 1996. Critics and fans alike think of this effort as the band's pop rock album. I had never listened to it before and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I like their follow up to it as well, Music From The Elder ...

1. "Is That You?" Gerard McMahon Paul Stanley 3:59

2. "Shandi" Stanley, Vini Poncia Stanley 3:36

3. "Talk to Me" Ace Frehley Frehley 4:00

4. "Naked City" Gene Simmons, Poncia, Bob Kulick, Peppy Castro Simmons 3:49

5. "What Makes the World Go 'Round" Stanley, Poncia Stanley 4:14

Side two

6. "Tomorrow" Stanley, Poncia Stanley 3:18

7. "Two Sides of the Coin" Frehley Frehley 3:16

8. "She's So European" Simmons, Poncia Simmons 3:30

9. "Easy as It Seems" Stanley, Poncia Stanley 3:24

10. "Torpedo Girl" Frehley, Poncia Frehley 3:44

11. "You're All That I Want" Simmons, Poncia Simmons 3:04

 KIϟϟ :

Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals, lead guitar on "Shandi", all guitars & bass on "Tomorrow" and "Easy As It Seems", guitar solo on "Is That You?" and "You're All That I Want", first guitar solo "What Makes The World Go 'Round"

Ace Frehley – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, all guitars & bass on "Talk to Me", "Two Sides of the Coin" and "Torpedo Girl", guitar solo on "Naked City", second guitar solo on "What Makes The World Go 'Round"

Gene Simmons – bass guitar, vocals, rhythm guitar on "You're All That I Want"

Peter Criss - drums (credit only)

With :

Anton Fig – drums
Vini Poncia – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
Tom Harper – bass guitar on "Shandi"
Holly Knight – keyboards
Bob Kulick - additional guitar